


Kiss Me Santa

by GSWritings, Himmelsdieb



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Claudia Stilinski, Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Banter, Christmas AU, Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, Highschool AU, Humor, M/M, POV Stiles, Patronage Universe, Teen Derek, Young Derek, investigating Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 17:51:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8926573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GSWritings/pseuds/GSWritings, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Himmelsdieb/pseuds/Himmelsdieb
Summary: Stiles knows what he’s seen last year. He knows  what a red cloak and a red cap looks like. Also humans, big bags and roof climbing. He knows. And it doesn't matter how much everyone laughs at him, this year he's gonna prove it and wipe the laugh right off their faces. Who didn't want to sneak up on Santa Claus at least once in his life? Everyone. But who managed to actually catch him just to find out Santa was less old and bearded than his High School's most wanted hottie? Sounds like a Stilinski thing to do. The other thing he found out, however, was a much bigger surprise.
  “The other part he still struggled to sort out was that Santa was Derek Hale. The Derek Hale he’d been watching from afar for more than a year now, pining over his perfect looks and pale eyes, not saying anything ever because the son of Beacon Hill’s patron family was so out of his league. The same Derek Hale that looked way too cool to jump into a Santa costume and sneak into houses to leave presents. And yet he did just that. What the hell? Or… what the Hale?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [12 Days of Sterek](12daysofsterek.tumblrcom). Thank you, dear host and dear participants, for gifting us with 12 days of beautiful Sterek worlds!
> 
> This work was a collaboration. The beautiful art was drawn by the talented [Himmelsdieb](himmelsdieb.tumblrcom) aka [artandphotograph](artandphotograph.tumblrcom). Come talk to us on tumblr!
> 
> _________________________
> 
>  **Big Thanks...**  
> ... to my partner in this collab,[Himmelsdieb](himmelsdieb.tumblrcom), for the thousands of times reading this. Thank you for making me laugh tears over your immediate reactions to the fic, for cheering me on and keeping me going when everyting got extremely stressfull. Thank you for working on a fic with me and thinking about a new one when it apparently got too huge and thank you for drawing those wonderful and talented pictures. I still love Stiles' pose, seriously. I keep smilig when I even think about it. xD  
>  Thank you for collaborating to begin with. ❤
> 
> ... to [Bakuyama](bakuyama.tumblr.com) for taking the time - again - to tackle my awful english out of this world. Thank you for all the mentions of difficult passages and thank you for listening to my rants whenever I get nervous. ❤

“Hale?!” Stiles burst out. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There, wrapped in a red cloak, on his living room carpet, laid Beacon Hills High School’s most wanted Hottie and son of the town’s patron family, Derek fucking Hale. Stiles blinked at the red cap, which apparently had fallen down during their current encounter and back to the boy’s face. The way Derek looked at him, gasping a shocked: “Stiles!”, with mere terror in his eyes, he was surprised by this outcome as much as Stiles was at least.

 

“ _You_ are the secret Santa?!” Stiles finally managed before his brain short circuited. “Wait. You know my na-? Woah!”

 

He couldn’t even finish his question. The expression on Derek’s face had switched over to annoyance quickly, before he shrugged the boy off as if he was nothing and he hit the floor.

 

“Dude! That’s very unsanta-y of you!” Stiles pointed out. He got up onto his feet, rubbing his butt, when he heard a sound. Freezing cold leaked into the room, causing Stiles to shudder in his pajamas before he turned around. “Hey, wait! Derek!”

 

And gone he was, out of the window and into the night. Stiles rushed over, irritated to find the street empty. He looked to the left, to the right, checking all sites but Derek was nowhere to be seen. The only thing pointing towards life were the burning christmas lights plastered onto windows and houses and gardens along the street.

 

“What the hell?”, he murmured to himself. How could Derek vanish so quickly?

 

Stiles shuddered again, this time even harder and closed the window to block the cold air out. He was still a little bit confused as he turned around and let his eyes wander through the room. Over the Christmas tree, hovering over a set of gifts, the big socks hanging on the wall instead of a chimney because they didn’t have one, and the spot both of them had hit the ground just a moment ago.

 

Standing in the almost darkness, the scent of his mom’s cooking talent still throughout the house, Stiles tried to wrap his mind around what just happened. He’d caught Santa. He’d been right all along, no matter how much everyone had laughed at him for what he’d said. Stiles knew what he’d seen and apparently it wasn’t a hallucination or wishful thinking, not at all. Part of him was brimming with triumph, most of all because he had all of it on tape which meant he had actual proof.

 

Stiles grinned. He would show it to his parents right after getting up in the morning and prove he was not the freak people had called him. He could already see his father’s face. First exhausted, then skeptical and finally surprised. Maybe a little bit proud, looking over to his mom. And mom? Mom would smile at both of them the whole time and Stiles would already have christmas then. Even before they started to open their presents, before he called Scott and spread the news in town. It was already filling him with excitement just thinking about it.

 

The other part he still struggled to sort out was that Santa was _Derek Hale_. The Derek Hale he’d been watching from afar for more than a year now, pining over his perfect looks and pale eyes, not saying anything ever because the son of Beacon Hill’s patron family was so out of his league. The same Derek Hale that looked way too cool to jump into a Santa costume and sneak into houses to leave presents. And yet he did just that. What the hell? Or… what the Hale?

 

Stiles had no idea what to make out of it. His heart was still fluttering from the adrenaline, the feeling of Derek’s firm body underneath him still lingering on his skin. He knew his name. Derek knew his name. He’d been laying on top of Derek Hale and- Stiles grinned as realization hit him. Fuck, he had a video of Derek Hale now. Damn he could think about the whole Santa thing and his parent’s faces when he revealed everything later. He had a video of Derek fucking Hale all for himself. And as the Sheriff’s son he was totally going to keep a copy of it - just in case he could use it for something in the future. That was all being responsible. If he got off on it for the next years, well, no one would know to judge him, right?

 

Stiles hurried to get the camera, ran upstairs and turned his computer on, without even thinking to restore the order in his parent’s living room. For having an unlimited look at Derek Hale he was very well willing to take his mom’s scowling in the morning. Probably he’d have to clean up before the presents were shared but, well, with the news he had at hand it all wouldn’t be too hard.

 

Most of the tape was boring. Stiles fast-forwarded it impatiently wondering how Derek had gotten in anyways. They didn’t have a chimney and all windows had been closed. He was curious how he did that. Obviously there was a security leak somewhere. He definitely had to find out and tell his dad about it!

 

Finally the video showed some movement and Stiles hit stop. There he was, Derek Hale but something didn’t quite fit in there before Stiles had managed to stop the tape.

 

“What was that…?”, he murmured absentmindedly, rewinding and stopping before he pressed play again. Stiles moved closer to the monitor, narrowing his brows as if it would make him see better. There he was, just about to enter… From the floor? What the-?! Derek moved further into the room. Every moment he’d step into the tra-

 

“Holy fucking shit!”

 

Stiles stopped the tape, winding back and watching it again several times until he sat there, staring at the shreds of his their living room carpet blankly while the tape went on. He saw himself enter and both of them collapse on the ground without really noticing.

 

What the hell was _that_? It was definitely not a light effect on the tape. That was real.

 

Stiles kept staring for a while, going through the events and every little detail over and over again but no matter how often he tried to think any sense into it he couldn’t. He had no idea how he could have missed their carpet’s new state or how it had gotten into it to begin with because none of it made sense.

 

It was already 4am in the morning when Stiles made his decision to solve this himself and got the tape out of his computer to hide it in his room. He hurried downstairs to remove the traces of his nightly encounter before anyone would ask questions he couldn’t fucking answer. For now it was enough to try and explain the destruction of their carpet. He still wondered how he didn’t see that earlier. Well, okay. He probably had been a little bit distracted by someone. That didn’t stop him from freaking out about that very someone for a completely different reason now. Derek Hale and he would have a proper talk. Tomorrow.

____________________________________________________________

 

He found Derek Hale in the freezing woods of the Hale property.

 

Given the new circumstances Stiles’ morning hadn’t been as heroic as the boy had imagined it to be. Not his dad, nor his mom had been happy about the current change in their carpet’s condition and Stiles didn’t have a proper explanation. The only reason that he didn't get grounded, was, that it was Christmas Day and his mom had a serious tradition of keeping things peaceful. He got shortened on his pocket money, though, to help and buy a new one.

 

To be honest it had been hard to focus because all Stiles could think of the whole morning had been the tape and what was on it and what the hell that was supposed to mean. It even got so far that his parents thought he wouldn’t like his presents and Stiles had to fake feeling unwell instead. Of course his parents didn’t believe him entirely and the sad smile they gave him was something Stiles desperately needed to get rid of.

 

Thousands of times he’d considered to just tell his dad. He was the Sheriff after all. This could be dangerous, so it was his duty to let the Sheriff know. But it would have ruined their Christmas completely. Stiles loved Christmas because his dad would have at least one day off and they’d all be together; because his mom would smile all the time and bake the most delicious things in the world. He couldn’t give up on it. And one day he wanted to step into his father’s shoes, so he had to prove he could handle things like this. Letting it be was not an option. If Stiles wanted to save his own Christmas before granny came over from poland he would have to solve the issue as soon as possible.

 

Which meant to pretend greatly and try with all his heart to convince his parents that he actually _loved_ his present  - what wasn’t hard, really, who wouldn’t be happy about the new Star Wars movies - before he managed to sneak out the window around noon.

 

The drive to the Hale’s preserve had been quiet, except for Jingle Bells playing from the car’s radio, because no one was out on the streets. Stiles had to admit staying home would definitely have been the best decision. It had gotten so cold he was careful maneuvering around the street corners to avoid skidding.

 

The preserve was even worse. Although it hadn’t snowed everything was covered by a white layer of frost. The air burned in his lungs and Stiles’ held the taser he’d ‘borrowed’ from his father for this trip - you better be prepared if you test-confront someone with something like this - firmly in his right hand. Both shoved deeply into the pocket of his jacket while he made his way through the trees.

 

The Hales would be delighted when he crashed into their feastivities. He’d been thinking over and over about what to tell whoever opened the door and found he’d come up with a somewhat acceptable excuse. Still Stiles felt himself grew increasingly wary the closer he got to the Hale House.

 

He was deep in his thoughts, thinking about how or how not to do this when Derek stood suddenly right in front of him, wearing nothing more than a dark sweater and Jeans. Because why a Jacket if it’s fucking freezing, right? Stiles stopped short and just looked at the boy he’d been pining over for years - until tonight. The irony was: Derek still looked gorgeous, so damn _human_.

 

“We need to talk”, Stiles said shifting nervously on his feet. The older teen scowled back at him with knitted eyebrows. Despite his words the forest was absolutely silent, too silent, Stiles thought. Of course this was also a wintery thing but all he could think of was the silence before a predator’s attack. Maybe instead of answering Derek would just tear him apart. Stiles suddenly wished he’d told _someone_ where he was.

 

“We do”, Derek answered grimly. However he managed to stand in the cold in nothing but a sweater without even trembling, his words were at least sending the same small clouds into the air. Stiles only blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected the older one to agree so easily.

 

“Oh. Okay? Then, uh, let's talk. I really have a ton of questions for you and before you think of denying it…” Stiles hesitated. This was his last chance to consider if he wanted to do this or not. His heart pounded quickly, he shifted on his feet and heard the sound of ice and leaves giving in under them. If he didn’t he’d never find out. He needed to _know_. So he said: “I have it all on tape.”

 

Derek was still scowling at him and if Stiles wasn’t hallucinating it got worse while he spoke until Derek eventually rolled his eyes.

 

“I don’t care about your questions. Listen.”

 

Hale made an energetic step towards him and Stiles instinctively hurried to make a step back, keeping the distance between them. It was enough to make the other boy stop mid-track, blinking at him with a confused knit in his brows. The crunching sound their steps had caused disappeared again.

 

“I’d rather have that conversation from, you know, afar or something”, Stiles said.

 

Derek’s brows narrowed even further and further each second. Really it had to hurt. Cautiously Stiles gripped the taser a little bit more tightly in his pocket. His fingers were already stiff and cold. He needed to move them if he wanted to keep quick reflexes. How the hell could Derek wear nothing but a sweater and look so comfortable? Maybe it was a thing for his kind - whatever that exactly meant.

 

Stiles took a deep breath and pushed further. He needed to get this solved and back home quickly after all. “And you are going to answer my questions, Derek.”

 

“No I am not”, Hale said still looking and even sounding, irritated but at least he didn’t try to get closer again. How very tactile from some….whatever that was. “I know you’ve been looking for the secret Santa but-”

 

“This is not about the damn Santa, Derek, I’ve seen it!”, Stiles cut him off. Derek shut up. He was clearly trying to get the missing pieces, worry rising in his eyes. He could as well kill him, Stiles thought again. But he _needed_ to solve this. When the other boy still didn’t seem to get it he shot the words out.

 

“Eyes, Derek. Fucking glowing eyes and _claws_! In my living room carpet!”

 

The next Moment everything went pretty fast. First Derek’s facial expression fell into shock and he got incredibly pale, the next moment all the shock turned into something alarmingly predatory. Stiles pulled the taser out, expecting it already but the very same moment Derek started to jump, somehow he was already there, smashing him into one of the freezing trunks. Stiles couldn’t do more than blink with a muffled gasp as the taser slipped out of his hands. Cold seeped through the jacket where he was pressed against the tree as Derek looked down distracted. The moment he saw the taser his expression got instantly angrier.

 

“Say that again!”, Derek demanded. It didn’t seem like he’d ever been distracted. If anything Stiles was alarmed at how much more eager the older teen was now.

 

“I...I am not sure I still want to anymore”, he managed to say, trying uselessly to peel Derek’s steel arm off himself. What kinds of arms were those?!

 

Panic rose. He should have told his dad. He should have told him right away but he was stupid and going to die in the middle of the woods between cold trees and no one around. He’d die alone, teared apart by claws and teeth and rot alone until his dad found the mess that was left of his son. Christmas was ruined. His life was over and it was all his fault.

 

As no answer came, Derek jerked his body further against the tree. Fuck he was _strong_! “What’s on that tape, Stiles!”

 

The pressure got instantly so strong it pressed on his lungs. This was it, this was how he’d get his rib cage squashed, insides all over the floor. Stiles could already see it happening and just like that all words left him at once.

 

“Okay okay! I… if you don’t eat me I’ll repeat it but only one time because it really creeps me out, just don't eat me or squash me!”

Derek stared at him as if he was losing his mind and backed off a bit.

 

“I am not gonna _eat_ you.”

 

Well, to his credit the disgust seemed quite real. Stiles just couldn’t tell if it was the thought about eating Stiles in particular or eating humans in general. He hoped for the latter but apparently being squashed wasn’t any better than being eaten and Derek didn’t deny _that_. A moment of silence passed until Stiles swallowed slightly, giving in to Derek’s incredulous stare.

 

“M-maybe there’s something with really not very humanly glowing, yellow eyes or something, just probably, if you really don’t eat me that is and also something might or might not kinda shred our carpet in stripes that definitely wasn’t my lacrosse racket. Not that my parents believed me anyways but how the hell are you going to explain _that_?”

 

Derek didn’t eat him, he didn’t squash him either, at least not yet. Instead he just stared at him, his brows narrowed in something that wasn’t purely anger. It was… _fear_ , Stiles realized. And expression he’d really not expected.

 

After a moment Derek let him go and turned away to… Stiles didn’t know. He seemed literally shocked but maybe he was just preparing for the last attack now that he was exposed, what did Stiles know? He eyed the boy warily, waiting for what to come, until his gaze sank to the floor. Derek seemed to have completely forgotten about the weapon there. Maybe… That was his chance, wasn’t it? Just in case…

 

In a slow movement Stiles tried to pick up his father’s taser. Bit by bit he sank to the ground, reaching for it. He must have made a noise then because Derek turned around the very same moment. The boy’s expression faltered to something unreadable.

 

“I won’t _eat_ you”, he finally insisted and for a second Stiles thought of an accused in court, fighting for his innocence. ‘How can you believe something like that?’, his eyes seemed to ask. ‘Ask the claws and fangs’, Stiles’ heartbeat answered.

 

“Well there’s a ton of other things I really don’t want to experience either. Getting squashed for example. You didn’t deny _that_ earlier”, he replied instead.

 

Derek snorted, rolling his eyes but Stiles’ heart was still racing. He’d only one chance, right? Stiles shot forward to pick up the taser and held it defensively in front of himself. The metal pressed into his stiff fingers cold as ice. He didn’t even know how fast he would still be able to move them but he held the weapon securely between them anyways. Derek didn’t even try to get closer but when he looked at Stiles now there was suddenly something new in his pale green eyes. Something like … hurt?

 

“I won’t hurt you _at all_ , Stiles.” But despite his urgent insists Derek didn’t argue any further. He sighed an almost resigned sigh before he added: “...And that thing wouldn’t be of any use anyways.”

 

Stiles eyebrows went up. Was that a joke? Derek didn’t look like it. This was a fucking _taser_. What did that mean it wouldn’t be of any use?! “Oh yeah, hey, that’s really, extremely reassuring.”

 

Derek didn’t answer, just scowled at the surrounding trees with that troubled, hurt look on his face. “You can’t tell anyone”, he said again. This time it was Stiles who snorted. “Why not? After your beautiful little outburst, here on that tree there, I am really not so sure I should deal with this alone.”

 

“You can’t!”, Derek insisted again more urgently and his eyes shot back to Stiles. He was holding back, almost coming over again and Stiles made a step backwards. “If you tell anyone it will be dangerous!” Another snort because, really? Mr. Fangs and claws, a taser does nothing to me, told him about danger? Hilarious. Did Derek really try to be the security man here? His carpet spoke otherwise, so Stiles held the weapon where it was.

 

“Oh yeah, I think I kinda noticed-”, he started sarcastically but Derek cut him off: “Not for you, idiot! For us!”

 

Stiles blinked. His mouth opened, his eyes widened. “ _Us_ ? You mean… there are _more_?”

Derek’s eyes widened at his words as if he realized he’d made a mistake and finally he made an attempt to come closer. Stiles raised his taser higher. He could see frustration rise on the boy’s worried face.

 

“Did you not listen to me? I won’t hurt you!”, Derek hissed but stayed where he was.

 

“You can’t tell anyone, Stiles. Not ever. Delete the video, never mention it again. To anyone!”

 

It was strange how afraid Derek sounded now while he was the monster in question and not Stiles. It couldn’t be for any other reason than...

 

“Oh my god!”, Stiles exclaimed, stroking with one hand nervously over his hair. “There are- Is it your whole family? Jesus fucking Christ! There’s a giant monster clan with claws and yellow glowing eyes in our city and you really expect me to say _nothing_? Derek, you might think I am a freak but I am not stupid! My dad’s the Sheriff!”

 

Fear, terror, hurt, anger - everything rushed through Derek’s face at once.

 

“Did you just listen to yourself? You called us _monsters_ ! You don’t know anything about us, you just get a glimpse and you call us _monsters_ , when all we ever did was protect the town! You ask why you can’t talk about it? Because this is exactly what people will say! No one asks questions. No one will care who or what we really are. We are monsters and we will be hunted and no one will protect the city anymore either!’

 

Stiles shut up. That was… in fact true. All of it. It was hard to get that this was even real let alone it wasn’t … monstrous, given the way it was introduced. Nervously Stiles licked his lips, thinking about what he was _supposed_ to think now. His lips were as cold as the rest of him, and the cold stuck to the wet trace his tongue had left.

 

“Okay”, he said finally, still not entirely sure what to believe. “Maybe I was a little bit preoccupied given the fact that I saw my carpet get shredded in an instant. You can’t blame me for this! But if you’re not all monstrous, what the hell _are_ you?”

 

Derek took a deep breath, looking through the trees. For a moment his gaze lingered on the frozen landscape before he looked back. Thinking about how much he can tell probably, Stiles thought. Maybe something else. Either way he seemed to calm down a little and Stiles realized he was doing the same.

 

“Patrons”, Derek answered eventually and Stiles raised both eyebrows. “Oh yeah, that. I did my doctors in patrons last year.” Because what the hell was that supposed to mean? Derek rolled his eyes before he offered an annoyed: “You’d say werewolves.”

 

Stiles’ mouth opened and closed and opened again. “Werewolves”, he repeated. Derek nodded seriously. For a while he kept staring at the other teen, waiting for the big reveal, the ‘Joke!’ but it didn’t come. “Sure. Just the normal thing.”

 

This time it was Stiles who looked onto the forest, trunk beside trunk over the white layer of frost. He tried to wrap his mind around that piece of information, matching it to the pictures he’d seen on the screen, while silence spread in between them. And it did match. Those yellow eyes, the fangs and claws looked exactly like some kind of lycanthrope. Yet it felt unreal.

 

In the silence Stiles got uncomfortably aware of the cold that was pulling at him. It wasn’t a place to be now, he thought and shifted with a small cracking sound from one foot onto the other. Every one of his breaths tainted the air with small clouds. He looked back to the boy a few meters away.

 

Derek didn’t seem to notice the cold. He was a werewolf. He had fangs and claws and was probably some kind of super endotherm or something. Why not? He wasn’t affected by tasers, so why not advanced body temperature? It was still unreal and unfair.

 

“So you do like...what? Howl to the moon to urge the threats away as full morphed beasts?”, he finally tried.

 

If anything he needed to know what he was dealing with. That was why he’d come after all when he could also be in the warmth of his home, eat mom’s cookies and watch his new Star Wars movie. Stiles thought about all the the moments he’d stumbled over, Derek’s incredible speed and strength and wondered what else there was. Derek didn’t look very impressed by Stiles’ suggestion. His brows rose _very_ judgingly this time.

 

“No howling. Okay. What else then? What’s a…’patron’?”

 

Derek sighed heavily and licked his lips. It was a strangely hot movement given the fact that Stiles now knew he was some kind of wolf beast. But, damn, he still looked all the same - given the fact he’s a wolf - and who could blame him for that?

 

“Actually it _is_ connected to the moon. That’s where our power comes from”, Derek explained. “So on full moons we are strongest. It’s… for protection. _With souls of wolves in human skin, the patrons protect from darkness’ sins._ ”

 

Stiles had no idea what it was from but he could tell the last sentence was recited. He remembered the stories they were told about the patron tradition. Everyone believed the patrons were more a representational thing but seemingly every legend really had a true core.

 

“So you are… When you left my house you were gone faster than logically possible. And when you pushed me against the tree you..”

 

“We’ve better senses, more strength and speed than any other human. And we heal more quickly.”

 

Stiles’ brows raised again. “Damn, you’re like some kind of comic hero”, he exclaimed with a strange pang of fascination growing in his belly.

 

There was a bemused smirk on his face as Derek said: “From monsters straight to superheroes?” But Stiles could tell there was something a lot more satisfied in his expression than when Stiles had called him a monster. Maybe proud even. It was… appalling.

 

Now that the tension had vanished Derek sat down on a trunk, apparently tired of standing. Stiles watched him silently. The well known, swift movements, this super important, serious expression on Derek’s face. After a moment he put the taser back into his pocket. As good as the idea had seemed before Stiles felt suddenly increasingly ridiculous with this thing in his hand.

 

Derek looked into the distance, whatever he could see there. Stiles wondered what that would be like, to have super senses. He wanted to know more. Slowly he started to move, strolling over to Derek before he hesitated. Just a moment, then he sat down beside the...wolf. It was still so quiet despite the sounds of his steps or his trembling breaths. He made it for maybe ten seconds before Stiles curiously glanced at the older one from the corner of his eyes.

 

“What do you protect the city from?”, he asked, wrapping his jacket closer around himself. Crazy thought but he was actually talking to Derek - wolf - Hale. Who shrugged, still completely untouched by the cold.

 

“Everything that comes up?” Derek answered. He didn’t look at Stiles when he talked as if the answer was somewhere written over a tree. “I guess in the middle ages it was more about wars and hunger, nowadays it’s basically political. We try to keep a balance, struggle with the same things other politicians do struggle with, too. Keeping the middle class from disappearing, justice, safety. Safety issues are different nowadays. It’s only in accidents or something that our physical abilities really come to use.”

 

Suddenly Stiles remembered people at the station insist that they’d seen something save them, dragged them out of fires or crashed cars. Of course no one believed them, no one would know. Had this been the Hales all the time?

 

It was fascinating to hear Derek talk like this. Stiles had only seen him with his friends or running over the basketball field like the kid he was. Well, thinking of it now, it was no wonder Derek was the school’s sports champion, given the powers he had. Stiles had sensed something else behind the jock, listening to his answers in class but that was more. That was reliable and dutiful and strangely appealing. Stiles could relate to the feeling of duty. He really did.

 

“Why the santa-ing?”, he asked and Derek snorted at the thing that got him exposed.

“It was originally to support the poor. As patrons my family is supposed to take care of the citizens of this town, so we’d give out presents to the ones who couldn’t afford some. Kind of give them a christmas they couldn’t have otherwise.” He shrugged again. “Somehow it’s everyone now.”

 

Stiles grinned, he couldn’t help it. The smile kind of appeared mid explanation and wouldn’t leave. As much as he’d freaked out at first, all of this seemed so god damn exciting to him now. His heart was beating with excitement while Stiles tried to wrap his mind around everything that he learned during the conversation. There was a slightly bemused smile on Derek’s lips and he wondered what he was thinking that made him smile like that.

 

“So you actually get to get up later with that wolfy speed of yours?”, Stiles asked. Derek let out a bemused snort. “We’re not necessarily faster than a car”, he said.

 

Stiles tilted his head thinking about it. “Well probably not yours. My Jeep? Sure. Isn’t that some kind of betrayal? You get those super powers but still have to get up as early as everyone?”

 

Derek laughed - actually laughed - and it was beautiful as sunshine. Stiles stared as those beautiful, pale eyes looked at him, a bemused glint within and this time the pride was obvious. The sight was so appealing he could never have looked away.

 

“I guess you just have to get up earlier to stop being late”, Derek said. “Damn…” Stiles answered a little bit absentmindedly and realized Derek’s eyes kept looking at him. His heart sped up again.

 

Stiles had never seen him so clearly and close. They had existed in two different worlds - more than Stiles would ever have guessed - but right now, right here the _wolf_ was directly in front of him. Eventually Derek carefully looked away and Stiles realized he’d been staring.

 

Holy shit. His heart started to beat even more quickly and he could feel his cheeks heat up. What did Derek say again? Stiles desperately hoped better senses didn’t mean Derek could hear what was happening inside him because his heart was beating strong enough to be audible in his own head at least. He was embarrassed enough either way and started to fidget around in his pockets. The movement just made him aware of the cold sneaking into his jacket, slowly freezing Stiles onto the spot and he shuddered. Derek looked up at him again.

 

“You cold?” He could feel how Derek’s eyes scanned his appearance worriedly and Stiles desperately tried not to look too pitiful. There was no way he’d outrun a fucking _werewolf_  - it still sounded unbelievable in his head - but who wanted to look pitiful in front of Derek Hale? Part of him liked it better when Derek seemed to be the monster that didn’t need to be impressed.

 

“No I love sub-zero temperatures. It’s a nice feeling to freeze onto a tree stump”, Stiles offered. Stiles could see the grin Derek tried to hide. “You don’t seem to mind much, though”, he pointed out.

 

“Higher body temperature”, Derek said matter of factly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to sit there, in a freezing forest, wearing nothing than a normal long-sleeved sweater without being bothered. Trying not to tremble Stiles felt like the damn kid he was. No need to impress had definitely been better. “Oh yeah, what else”, he muttered.

 

Derek shifted beside him and the next moment Stiles was pulled against solid muscle structure, wrapped into warmth.

 

“Holy shit!”, he exclaimed shuddering as his body struggled to catch up with the sudden change of temperature and the thing Derek had just done. Short circuit one. Short circuit two. Short circuit three...

 

“Good?”

 

Stiles shuddered again but this time because Derek’s voice was right beside his ear now. Good? No. Fucking amazing! “Indescribable”, was all he managed to say.

 

Derek started to rub over his arms, trying to get him warm and sent chaos all over his body. Stiles swallowed heavily. Silence spread between them because his mind was entirely blank and all his senses focused on the warm body wrapped around him like a blanket.

 

It felt amazing. Even through his jacket Stiles could feel the perfect proportions of Derek’s body as he was pressed carefully into Derek’s side by a firm grip. It wasn’t monstrous at all.

 

“I am sorry”, he said. Again Derek shifted and Stiles assumed he tried to look at him but didn’t return the gaze. “About what I said earlier, with the monsters and all. I just… dude… I had to know, okay? I am the Sheriff’s son after all. I can’t know about this and ignore it. I have to at least make sure it’s not a threat and my carpet wasn’t exactly a best introduction to this, you know?”

 

There was silence for a moment and Stiles kept his gaze down on the frozen forest floor. Branches and leaves, all embraced by the small crystals the cold carried.

 

“I understand”, Derek said eventually and somehow he sounded like he really did. Then a quiet: “Um…”

 

Stiles looked up into the distance, where the frost looked like a thin layer of snow although it didn’t snow yet. When nothing else followed, he turned his head to look at the wolf again and found Derek looking onto the floor with an almost guilty expression.

 

“Sorry for the carpet. I was...uh… I didn’t expect the second trap.”

 

Stiles couldn’t help but grin. Yes, he’d caught Derek Hale off guard and not only Derek “sports champion” Hale but Derek “superpowers” Hale. No way he would hold this grin back at all.

 

“As I told you: Sheriff’s son”, he said and wiggled his eyebrows as Derek looked up again. He snorted but a small crooked grin crawled back onto Derek’s lips.

 

For a while Stiles only looked at him, studying his features that looked so different from the thing on his tape. Even the form of his face had seem different somehow. The thought built itself in his mind long before he said it out loud but Stiles hesitated. Given the short: “What?”, Derek finally asked, not very unnoticed anyways. Stiles pressed his lips together but blurted  it out a moment later nonetheless: “Can I see it?”

 

Derek blinked startled.

 

“The transformation, your other side, whatever you call it”, Stiles explained, maybe sounding a little bit too excited now. “Wolf out.”

 

Skeptical, Derek raised his eyebrows. If due to the babbling or Stiles’ request in general he didn’t know. He couldn’t even blame the guy. He’d called him and his family monsters and a security threat just minutes ago - and he didn’t even see the thing up close yet. But Stiles wanted to see it. He had to.

 

“I won’t freak out, promise”, he said and Derek’s eyebrows shot up even further. Damn, those things could _talk_! “Okay, maybe a little bit but no heavy accusations or anything. … The taser wouldn’t help anyways, you said it.”

 

“It wouldn’t help but still hurt”, Derek said.

 

“Oh.”

 

There was another pause before Derek held out his hand, palm up. Stiles looked down onto it and back up blankly. “Really?”, he asked. “Really”, Derek answered.

 

Stiles sighed heavily and pulled the thing out of his pocket to hand it over. The moment his hand left the weapon, Derek threw it between the trunks of the trees.

 

“Hey!”, Stiles exclaimed a hundred times too late trying to grip it. All he could do was watch it fly so far he’d never ever find it again. God damn he’d so get grounded for that one, Christmas or not.

 

“That’s my dad’s! I am getting into serious trouble if I don’t bring it back!”

 

But Derek was genuinely unmoved. He just shrugged and said: “I’ll bring it back afterwards.” Before he could stop it Stiles rolled his eyes. “How do you wanna do that, huh? It shot away like fucking arrow. I didn’t even hear it fall down.”

 

“I did.” And there it was again, this self confident grin that made Stiles want to punch him. _Punch_ him. The worst part was, Stiles wasn’t even sure he wouldn’t hurt himself trying. He lunged for his best defense: “Oh yeah, of course. So how are you gonna wolf it back, huh? Sniff it out?”

 

Derek didn’t do more than raising his brows but it wasn’t anything else needed. Stiles blinked for a moment in disbelief before he raised his brows and finally looked away.

“I can’t believe it…”

 

He could _feel_ the smug grin on Derek’s face even without looking at him. And even if Stiles hated it, it was… No. He didn’t want to know what it was. Finally Stiles sighed and returned the gaze.

 

“Alright. I am all helpless now. Perfect for wolf out and _not_ eat me or tear me apart for whatever kind of reasons. Show me your wolf, good ‘ol wolf, get it out. Don’t be shy.”

 

Derek looked at him as if he’d gotten proof Stiles has just lost his mind but there was something else now, something that was nothing like the ever confident expression Stiles was used to. It was strange and fascinating how sudden Derek seemed to get self conscious, proud and awkward all at the same time when it came to his wolf. Stiles made a mental note to keep this in mind.

 

The wolf looked down for a moment in whatever kind of silent conversation he was having with himself and for once Stiles didn’t interrupt. Instead he watched Derek’s beautiful features until he looked up again in a somewhat careful manner. It took a moment and his eyes slid into burning lights.

 

Stiles outright stared, he couldn’t help it. It was… unbelievable. Clear, predatory, yellow held both irises. He wouldn’t be able to describe the wild beauty, because, yes, it _was_ beautiful and so strangely familiar. Derek didn’t say anything, just looked at him and when nothing else happened Stiles realized he was waiting for something. The boy cleared his throat awkwardly and asked: “That’s...uh...that’s everything?”

 

Derek rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Of course not.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Stiles stared at him expectantly and Derek stared back. After a while he slowly opened his lips to show fangs. The same moment Stiles’ gaze dropped and he was back to staring. He’d seen them before, pale fangs in the darkness of his living room. He’d played the video over and over again but this was real. Actual real fangs right in front of him...

 

A firm grip on his wrist startled Stiles back into reality and he realized he was just about to poke them. Carefully the boy peered up at Derek who was scowling down at him quite intensely. Stiles cleared his throat and turned a little bit away.

 

“Um, yeah. Not cool. No poking fangs.” God that was awkward. He felt like a complete idiot. He couldn’t dwell on it too much, though, because suddenly Derek’s head shot up. When Stiles looked at him he was staring somewhere into the woods but following his eyes Stiles couldn’t see anything.

 

“My sister. She’s checking on me”, Derek said.

 

Frowning at the trees the boy tried to make out which one Derek called his sister because, really, there was no way he’d get over those werewolf senses. He saw nothing. Literally nothing. How could Derek know she was coming?

 

He felt the loss of Derek’s embrace in a rush of sudden cold as the wolf got up and a moment later he was pulled onto his feet. “You have to leave.” Stiles shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. He didn’t want to leave.

 

“What about the taser? I-”

 

“I’ll bring it to you tomorrow”, Derek cut him off. “You have to leave.” Derek pushed him further between the trees, back to being a normal human being and oddly nervous about his sister’s arrival.

 

“Didn’t you say your family wasn’t dangerous?”, he asked suspiciously.

 

Raised eyebrows looked down on him.

“Yeah”, Derek agreed, still showing Stiles through the trees as if he knew exactly where to go. Which would be great because Stiles had no idea.

 

“But there’s something called parenting. And other threats than physical harm.”

 

This time Stiles raised his brows.

 

“She asks questions! Many questions!”, Derek exclaimed. “And if they get to know someone found out, I’d definitely get grounded for months. Or worse. You can’t tell anyone, Stiles. No one.”

 

“Oookay that’s some heavy grounding for a little bit of truth there”, Stiles murmured, still being shoved by Derek’s hand. He wanted more than his hand and probably didn’t like his sister much so far. He still has so many questions, he’d been close to Derek this once and she had to destroy the moment. She was disturbing the forest’s peace - literally - because now the silence was broken by hurried, crunching footsteps.

 

“It’s not just a little bit of truth”, Derek argued on the way. “It could get us all killed if the wrong person will ever find out about it. It happened before. You have to promise that you will delete the video, Stiles.”

 

It happened before? To him all the Hales looked perfectly fine, yet Stiles felt shudders tickling his spine by the thought of whatever Derek might be talking about. He’d find out later, certainly. Now Stiles just sighed. There his dreams of the best “private quality time” material ever went down to hell. “Yeah, yeah. Delete it all completely”, he mumbled.

 

Derek shove Stiles around a few bushes and they were at the street, Jeep waiting patiently. There was a moment of silence when they halted and the sound of their footsteps vanished the very same moment.

 

They’d part now and then…. What then? Stiles watched Derek look back into the trees nervously, stepping a few steps to the side, and could almost see the yellow glow spread across his irises although they stayed plainly normal. He wanted to know so much more, wanted to see the whole thing. He wanted to look at the familiar glow of his eyes again and… Suddenly Stiles remembered where he’d seen this before and his mind jumped into action, heart speeding up the very same moment. Derek looked at him again.

 

“So… you know my name”, Stiles said. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything but he really couldn’t stop himself. “You’ve been watching me the last years.”

  


Derek’s eyes narrowed instantly to the deep scowl from earlier. It was hilarious how suspicious he could look, when he was the stalker here and at the same time even confused. Stiles took mercy on him anyways, mostly because he wanted an explanation and said: “Dude, I recognized your eyes.” But instead of any explanatory attempt Derek scowled at the trees. No way he’d let that go.

 

“...Was that, uh, … did you want to check if i was a good boy for Christmas or what?” Derek’s lips parted quickly and stopped. After a moment he looked down a little bit too guiltily. “Eh… yeah”, he said. “That’s part of the deal.”

 

What the…? Stiles’ brow shot in the air. He believed not a _word_. Seriously? He knew how to mess up a lie and that totally was it! “Uh huh…”, Stiles made suspiciously. “That’s all?”

 

“Yeah. That’s all.” Derek didn’t even look at him, getting his shirt back into order around his back for no reason at all. He looked into the woods again but he didn’t seem to pay a lot of attention to them and Stiles knew that behaviour.

 

“Derek. I am the Sheriff’s son. If you wanna lie to me do it properly.” A crooked grin stayed on Stiles’ lips as Derek looked at him a little bit caught, unsure where to go from here. Could it be? Could it actually be?!

 

Stiles thought about everything that had happened within the last hour. Every touch, every gaze, the golden eyes following him over the years. He couldn’t do more than try, right? His heart was loud and heavy now. And Stiles was dead sure Derek’s super senses could hear it.

 

"Uh... with your santa-ish expertise… would you say that Santa is just a saint or uhm...religiously bound?”

 

Stiles fiddled nervously with his shirt. He was aiming for casual but really, all he felt was awkward. And it didn’t help that Derek raised his brows in that very particular way that told Stiles he was being a weirdo again. This was Derek Hale after all. How many times had he been making out already? Definitely a lot more than Stiles. He needed to do a good job here or he would embarrass himself more than ever.

 

“Uhm… I mean….” Stiles swallowed nervously. “Do you think Santa could be...like hypothetically...uhm… probably be gay? Just… hypothetically.”

 

God that was so not doing a good job. What the hell was he doing? Derek, however, was back in business and perfectly comfortable. There was a knowing, smug grin on his face and Stiles really wasn’t sure if he liked it or not, although it was kinda hot.

 

“You know that my whole family does that thing on Christmas Night, don’t you?”

 

Stiles’ opened his mouth and shut it again to open it again…. “Oh….. Uhm… No.”

 

This was so embarrassing. Derek was still grinning and Stiles decided he didn’t like it because it wasn’t fair. He’d had it under control ‘till now and he definitely liked it better when Derek was the one squirming awkwardly. But he also couldn’t help to notice that Derek didn’t show any negative reaction yet. He was looking at Stiles bemused and kinda expectantly. It was not a good idea, so not a good idea but he went on anyways.

 

"Well then more like this, uhm…”

Stiles tried to be casual this time, he did, even put some affords to stroll towards Derek in what’s supposed to be a sexy manner but Derek just raised his brows more, the bemused grin on his lips widening.

" _Hypothetically_ speaking”, he went on, desperately trying to ignore the loud thud thud thud his heart did. “... plainly hypothetically…. could _you_...possibly-"

 

Half way down to Derek he stumbled - fucking _stumbled_ over his own feed - and let out a very unmanly squeak, before something grabbed him firmly and so quickly that stiles really couldn’t catch up with the events, to press him against the side of his Jeep.

 

It was ice cold in his back but Stiles couldn’t pay attention. Derek’s pale eyes were right in front of him now, the older one’s hot breath hitting against Stiles lips. For once he was speechless. All he could do was stare at Derek with parted lips and a heartbeat loudly racing in his head, the only sound he was still able to hear.

 

This is how he lost his first kiss, right there, pressed against his Jeep by Derek fucking Hale. Derek wasn’t doing this for the first time, Stiles could tell from the way Derek’s lips moved on his own but he really didn’t mind. Because that would actually have required a brain and his was off for a long overdue vacation trip to Montana.

 

Stiles didn’t realize he’d buried both hands in Derek’s short hair and pressed against him but when he opened his eyes later they were right there and Derek was looking at him as breathless as Stiles was, with pupils dark and wide. Stiles didn’t let go. His legs were the wobbliest things ever and he feared he’d fall down immediately if he did. Also it felt too good to let go. Still dizzy Stiles absentmindedly traced his lip where he could still feel Derek’s burning touch. The wolf’s eyes darted down immediately causing Stiles to swallow heavily.

 

Right then a howl emerged from the trees not, too far away and Derek almost let go of him if Stiles wouldn’t have pulled him back.

 

“I have a wish for Santa”, Stiles heard his voice say breathlessly. Derek’s eyebrows wandered up for another time but he stayed with an expectant gaze. “Christmas is over.”

 

“Yeah”, Stiles started, “but technically you still owe me something for this year since I didn’t get anything. You just bolted.”

Derek’s eyebrows rose even further.

 

“I want to date you” Stiles blurted and the grin on Derek’s face widened. It was fucking stunning and annoying at the same time. Stiles wanted to rip that self-confident smile off his face for the hundredth time and kiss him again simultaneously.

 

A quick glance into the woods and back to Stiles before he asked: “Have you been a good boy all year?”

 

And, damn, Stiles wanted to do _something_ to him because as the creepy stalker he’d been Derek fucking _knew_ the answer. Instead Stile just said: “Uhm…. Not… You know that’s probably ambivalent”, and pressed his lips together for a moment before he started babbling in a haze: “But you’re not the real Santa.”

 

There the brows talked upwards again.

“Well. Then I guess I owe you nothing at all.”

 

_Fuck._

 

Stiles started to open and close his mouth repeatedly trying to find a proper answer. Another howl, closer this time. Finally Derek grinned before he said: “Tomorrow at seven. I’ll pick you up.”

  
He was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Stiles breathless, staring after him until a wide grin started to spread over his face. He pushed himself away from his car with a triumphant fist pump.

**Author's Note:**

> **A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS to all of you! ❤**


End file.
